The Journey of Sarah and Drew
by Aria030
Summary: This is the tale of a young girl named Sarah and her elder brother Drew going on a Pokemon journey together in the Sinnoh region. Sarah has always wanted to go out into the world and explore, and now she will get the chance. They will meet countless new people and Pokemon as they travel, make some friends, and some enemies!
1. Chapter 1

All my life, I've wanted adventure. I couldn't wait for my tenth birthday to come so that I would finally receive my first Pokemon and set out on my own journey. All I wanted was to be independent, with only my trusted Pokemon besides me. I dreamt of becoming the greatest trainer in all of Sinnoh, maybe even the world. I could never do this by staying in Sandgem! I needed to go out and explore with Pokemon! But my parents wanted me to do no such thing.

All they wanted for me and my brother, Drew, was for us to stay with them and finish school. I had always defied this, but my brother had seemed to go along with it. At least at first.

When his tenth birthday came around, even as most of his friends were receiving their trainer cards and setting out to train their newly acquired Pokemon, he was fine with staying at home and in school. He always studied hard and got good grades for it, something I never did. My parents were obviously pleased by his satisfaction, and ignorantly assumed that I would be fine with it as well. Wrong.

The next year, when I turned ten, I threw a fit because my parents had failed to get me the trainer card I so desperately wanted. I even tried running away from home, although I only got to the edge of the town before a flock of Starly attacked me and I ran right back.

The following month, Drew turned eleven and remained a student. He seemed fine with not becoming a trainer around our parents, but I could tell that he was disappointed.

After that, I begged and pleaded with my parents to let me become a trainer. They came up with lots of reasons why I shouldn't go, but there main reason was, "We just don't want you to be alone!"

"Mom, you know I'll be with my Pokemon!"

"Sarah, you know what I mean! I don't want you to be without other people or with strangers."

We had had this conversation many times before, but this time, something changed.

"I'll go with her." It was my brother. In that moment, I saw all the reasons my mom had against me becoming a trainer vanish. "Fine. What Pokemon would you want anyway?"

What Pokemon? I suddenly realized I had never even thought about what type! How could I choose just one? "Just... get me something strong."

My mother groaned. "Not _too_ strong..."

The month after that, on my eleventh birthday, I got my trainer license and a promise that I would receive my first Pokemon on my brother's birthday. And so, 28 days later, we both got just that.

After my mom gave Drew his trainer card, she brought us into the living room and sat us down on the couch. She then explained that the Pokemon they had gotten us were from a well known breeder that had been recommended by another parent.

My dad came downstairs holding two red pokeballs. He carefully handed us each one of them. I held mine gingerly in my hands and, after a moment of pause, we both released our new Pokemon.

Mine was a grey wolf-like creature with shiny red eyes that looked curiously at me. I knelt down and let it sniff my hand. At first it was wary of me, backing away and baring its teeth. Then it stopped and came closer. After sniffing me it even let me scratch it behind the ear.

"Sarah, yours is a female Poochyena. It's a Dark type. Andrew, yours is a male-"

"Houndour, right? It's a Dark and Fire type... These are pretty good Pokemon, thanks!"

"Know it all... But this is perfect! We can finally set out together on an adventure! But hey, we need to name them. Hmm, I think I'll call you Karina, Rina for short. That sound ok?" My new Poochyena gave a happy bark as a reply.

"Glad to know you approve. What are you gonna name yours?"

"I think that I'll name him Daemon." The Houndour nodded and thumped its stubby tail against the carpet.

"Alright, you kids can take off after you pack your things. I have some food for you to bring and a few potions for if your Pokemon get tired. Remember to head to Pokemon Centers for lodging and health care, too!"

This was how Drew and I set out on our Pokemon journey.


	2. Chapter 2

After multiple goodbyes, lots of hugs and a few tears, I finally set out with Drew. The Pokedex that I got showed that Rina was only level 3 and that the only move she knew was tackle. Daemon was also level 3, but he knew leer and ember.

The only wild Pokemon in the area the were appearing were Starly, Bidoof, and the occasional Shinx. Working together, we managed to dispatch any threat that presented itself. Both our Pokemon managed to go up a level before even meeting any trainers.

The first trainer we met had only one Pokemon, a beginner like us. He said that he would only battle one of us. Of course, I begged Drew to let me try. As the battle began, it became clear that his Starly was of a slightly higher level.

"Come on Star! Use Leer!"

"Don't back down Rina! Tackle!"

"Quick Attack!"

"Dodge and Tackle!"

Thanks to Rina and her awesome dodging skills and fierce willpower, we were faring pretty well. With one last tackle, the Starly went down. I happily collected my prize money and hugged Rina. I could tell that she was feeling a little faint, so I got out one of the few potions I was given by my parents and sprayed it on her.

Drew walked up and patted me on the back. "Good job Sarah! You won your first trainer battle!"

I smirked and shrugged. "It was mostly Rina, but yeah, I helped a lot."

The next few trainers we faced all had at least two Pokemon or were willing to team up so that our double battles would be fair. Rina and Daemon were both level 6 now, and had both learned the move Howl, which awesomely boosted their attacks.

Walking along the route, I felt alive for the first time. I took in the scent of the trees and grass. I smiled down at Rina who was trotting along beside me. She barked and playfully head-butted my leg.

We were only a little more than halfway through the route when the sun set.

"We should make camp here and continue in the morning," My brother said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Besides, I'm starving! What food do we have?"

"Mom packed us some sandwiches and fruit. She also gave us some Pokemon food, two or three days worth, I think."

"Great! Lets eat! Can Daemon start a fire for us? It's getting cold."

As Daemon lit some wood, creating a small blaze, I looked up at the stars. They were so clear when you weren't in a town or city!

"Hey Drew, why did Mom and Dad get us Dark type Pokemon?"

"Probably because, although they can be mischievous, they are very loyal to those that they trust and respect."

"Huh... That's kind of cool." I watched as Rina wolfed down her food and wondered if she would respect me. I could be respectable, right?

After eating, we rolled out our sleeping bags as our Pokemon began howling to the crescent moon gleaming overhead.

"You know, I think I will like training after all," Drew said. He gently crawled into his sleeping bag. "It's not so bad."

"I never had any doubts that it would be amazing. I'm really glad you decided to come with me though. It's more fun this way."

After a few minutes of howling, our Pokemon finally decided that they had enough and snuggled down beside us. They were tired from their first day of training.

"Good night, Sarah."

"G'night Drew..."

I fell asleep feeling really happy. I was finally on an adventure, and I got to share it with my favorite person in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

At eight o'clock the next morning, I was woken by a warm and wet tongue on my neck. I rolled over and opened my eyes.

"Morning Rina..." I said and patted her head. My gaze shifted to Drew who was packing up his sleeping bag.

"Hey Drew. How long have you been up?"

"Oh! Sarah, your awake! I've only been up for ten minutes or so. There's some fruit left, you should eat that. Daemon and I have already eaten so go ahead and finish it off if you want."

"Uh, thanks." I walked over to my backpack and took out a banana. "And for you..." I poured out some pokemon food into a small bowl and set it in front of Karina. She gratefully accepted my offering and began to vacuum it up.

"We should set out in a few minutes, so pack up your stuff."

"Yeah yeah..." I said while eating my banana. I then put my chocolate brown hair into a high ponytail and helped pack up our little camp. We called our pokemon to follow us and set out to conquer the rest of route 202.

It wasn't long before wild pokemon started attacking us again. It was annoying, but also good for experience. We turned out to make a pretty powerful combination. There were only a few trainers, and they were nothing we couldn't take. Both Rina and Daemon made it up to level 8, and Daemon learned the move Smog.

It was one o'clock by the time we reached Jubilife City. The City was filled with high end buildings, including Sinnoh's main T.V. station. After some walking, we came to a pokemon center. We checked in and managed to get ourselves a room with two beds. Pokecenter rooms were always free for three nights to all trainers, so there was no worry of cost. Then we headed down to the cafeteria and got some pasta. Rina kept stealing the meatballs of my plate.

After eating, we headed down to the pokemart to restock on our supplies. With the money we saved, we managed to buy a variety of healing items and pokemon food.

When we walked out the doors, we saw a pokemon battle taking place with a crowd forming around it.

"What's going on over there?" I asked the person in front of me.

"It's a pair of ace trainers battling it out. I wouldn't have expected higher level trainers to be in this city..."

I tried to squeeze my way to a better spot. When I got to the front, I saw a black haired boy and a blonde girl shouting directions at an electabuzz and monferno.

"Come on Flame! Use Close Combat!" The girl shouted at the monferno.

"Dodge it! Use Thunder Punch!" The electabuzz sidestepped the wildly thrown swings and dealt out an electrically charged punch. The monferno was hit and fell to the ground, knocked out. The boy smirked. The girl, seeming very annoyed, returned her unconscious pokemon.

"Humph... Go Ai!" She yelled and released an ambipom. "Use Double Hit!" It swung both of its tail/hand things and gave the electabuzz two hard slaps. The electabuzz shook them off and seemed barely hurt.

"Discharge!" The electabuzz let loose a mass of electricity that fried the ambipom and paralyzed it.

"Come on!" The girl screamed desperately.

"Finish it with Focus Blast!" The electabuzz gathered a mass of pure energy and fired it at the ambipom, knocking it out. The blonde girl groaned and returned her pokemon. She walked over to the boy to gave him a fistful of cash. The boy seemed smug as he returned his electabuzz.

"Wow, they were pretty good. I wonder how long it will take for us to be on that level..." I whispered to my brother.

"I don't know, maybe four or five months if we really try hard."

"You think so? We should probably try to get another pokemon on our teams, don't you think?"

"Yeah, preferably something that will counteract our weaknesses."

"What is the dark type weak against?"

"Fighting and bug types. A flying type could take both of those. Or a Psychic to take care of the Fighting. There's lots of different combinations you could try."

"That's cool. We should go train in the area and see if there are any pokemon we would want to have on our team."

"Yeah, that's fine. To train, we should go hang out on route 203 and challenge trainers walking by to a double battle."

"Perfect! That sounds like an awesome way to train up."

We headed out to the route and picked a nice spot in a place that trainers would have to cross. It wasn't long before two boys walked by and we challenged them. They sent out a machop and a geodude. Just our luck.

In the beginning, all we did was dodge and Howl. Dameon managed to get in some Smog attacks and it poisoned the machop. Rina kept using Tackle, but it had little effect on either of them.

After a few minutes the machop finally fainted from the poison, leaving only the geodude to deal with.

Thankfully it didn't know any rock type attacks yet, so it wasn't that much of an issue on Daemon. Very slowly, we wore it down until it finally fainted, although at that point we only had a few HP left.

After we collected our cash, we ran to the pokemon center and handed our tired pokemon to Nurse Joy.

I sighed and said, "Yeah, we really can't do anything against rock or ground type..."

"Agreed. Unfortunately for us, the first gym is rock type. I think that we should skip it until we get a pokemon that's more affective against them."

"I guess so... What's the second gym then?"

"It's a grass type gym in Eterna city. I'll have the advantage there and you won't have any disadvantages. But it will be a higher level gym, so we should spend more time training before setting out."

"Well then, it's back to training!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh, I need new interesting ideas... some thing to make this story more fun. Tell me if you have any. Oh, and by the way I don't own Pokemon. I kind of forgot to mention that earlier. Whoops.**

* * *

For the next two days, we trained feverishly. Daemon and Rina were now level 10, and Rina had learned Sand Attack. We were ready to head to Floaroma Town, which was on the way to Eterna City. We restocked our supplies and set out onto Route 204.

There were only a handful of other trainers at first. They were pretty easy and most of them only had one or two Pokemon anyway. The wild Pokemon also weren't that difficult and most went down in two hits. The Pokemon and trainers got harder as we went further in though. There were rock types in the small cave in the middle of the route.

It took us four full days to get to the end of the route, mostly because we where taking our sweet time. When we finally did get to Floaroma Town at twelve o'clock, we were exhausted and went straight to sleep in the Pokemon center. When we woke up, it was already three thirty. We spent the rest of that day playing with our Pokemon in the flowers and relaxing.

"You know, it's nice to get a break once in a while," I said while scratching Rina under the chin.

"Yeah... But we should get back to training tomorrow."

"Fine. We should hang around this Town for a while though. It's really nice here."

"Sure, we can do that. There's the Valley Windworks in the east of here. That would be a good place to train."

"Ok," I mumbled as I relaxed in the flowers with Rina on my lap.

The following day we went to check out the Valley Windworks. The walk took us two hours and when we finally made it, there were water Pokemon everywhere. Rina took care of most of them, leaving the Pachirisu and Shinx to Daemon. By the time the sun set, they had each risen a level. We walked back in the dark, using our Pokemon to help guide us. We got into the Pokemon center late, going right to bed.

We woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. We walked out of Floaroma Town planning to do the same thing as the previous day when we met a boy only about a year or two older then me on the road. Naturally, we challenged him to a double battle, two on two.

He reluctantly agreed and pulled out two pokeballs. He released them and yelled, "Go Maggy and Elton!" Out came a Magby and an Elekid.

"Go Rina! Use Howl!"

"Go Daemon! Ember on the Elekid!"

"Elton dodge and use Low Kick! Maggy use Ember!"

Daemon's Ember only grazed the Elekid, and the Elekid then spun around and delivered a sweeping kick to Daemon. The Magby's Ember hit Rina with full force while she was Howling. She shrieked and let out a whine.

"Rina, don't give up! Use Sand attack! Keep using if!"

"Keep going Daemon! Use Smog until it gets poisoned!"

"Elton! Keep using Low Kick! Maggy, use Smog!"

"Dodge the kicks!"

The battle went on with the Magby's accuracy getting worse and worse and the Elekid trying to kick Daemon but getting covered by a clouds of poisonous gas. Eventually it was poisoned and its health quickly deteriorated.

"Rina, now Tackle! Again!"

"Daemon finish it of with Ember!"

The Elekid went down. The moment Rina came in contact with the Magby, she was burned. Daemon helped down the Magby and the battle was finished.

"Aww... Looks like I lost. Here." The boy handed us some money. "My name is Daniel, by the way. Those are some great Pokemon you have. I can tell they really trust you!"

"Thanks. Yours were great too! We probably only won because there were two of us though..." I said. "I'm Sarah and this is Drew."

"Nice to meet you. You should probably come back to the Pokemon center with me, your Pokemon look tired."

"We will! Thank you!"

We started walking back to Floaroma with him, chatting as we went.

"Are you a breeder?" Drew asked. "Those Pokemon looked like you raised them from eggs."

"That's right! I've been a breeder for almost two years now."

"Really! That's so cool! Do you sell Pokemon too?" I asked excitedly.

"Yep! I'm trying to sell some of the Pokemon I breed, but the problem is that I'm not very good at training them, so I usually just do baby Pokemon."

"Oh! What types do you have? I might want one! Do you have any Water Pokemon?"

"A few. If your interested, I'll take them out of the PC to show you."

"That would be great!"

We made it back to the Pokemon center and handed all our Pokemon to Nurse Joy. Daniel walked over to the PC and opened up his account.

"Ok, so I have a few Water Pokemon. I have some Buizel, some Magicarp, and a Poliwag. Want any of those?"

"Hmm... Not really... Do you have anything else?"

"Well, I do have a baby Azurill. It's a Normal type, but evolves into a Water type."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure." He withdrew the Azurill from the PC and opened its pokeball.

Out came a cute, round, blue pokemon with mouse ears and a big round tail that it was sitting on like a ball. It gave a small squeak of joy and smiled up at me.

"It's adorable!" I cried. "Does it have a name?"

"Her name is Marley. She's still pretty young. I'll give her to you for only 800 Poke, if you want."

"I have that much... Yes! I'll take her!"

"Rill! Azu-rill!" Marley sang happily.

And that was how I got Marey, my Azurill. My second Pokemon.


	5. Chapter 5

It was back to the Valley Windworks the next day. Rina and Daemon were the only ones really fighting the wild Pokemon. I let Marley watch them to try to have her get a little experience that way. She was really amazed at how strong Rina was. Marley kept mirroring her movements, and occasionally running in to try and help. I tried not to let her of course, her being only level 1, but she would sometimes attempt a Tackle or just hit something with her tail. James said that normal Azurill don't naturally learn Tackle, but I could tell that Marley was _not_ normal.

By the end of the day, all our Pokemon were tired out. Marley was now level 5 and somehow had learned the move Tackle. Rina and Daemon were level 13 now and had both learned new moves. Daemon had learned Roar, and Rina had learned Bite.

As we got comfortable in our room in the Pokemon center, I watched Marley following Rina around the room. She seemed to look up to Rina as her hero. I could tell that Rina was enjoying the respect. The two seemed to get along fine. Daemon was also fine with the new company, although he didn't really interact with her much.

"Hey, Drew! You should get another Pokemon also."

"I know. I'm just waiting to find one I like."

"That's fine. We should be leaving here in a couple of days."

The next few days were all rotated between training and playing with our Pokemon. Finally, a week later, we were ready to get on the road to Eterna. We said goodbye to Daniel after exchanging phone numbers and headed out.

Route 205 was teeming with trainers and Pokemon, and we had to battle it out. Most of them were harder than anyone we had met before too. At one point, I even had to rely on Marley to fight because Rina fainted.

Two days in, we came to a dead end and needed to turn back, adding even more time to our already long trip.

After a little more than a week of traveling and training, we finally reached the beginning of the Eterna Forest. It was usually pretty dark and was very easy to get lost, which ended up happening a lot. The forest was also very quiet, which made it seem incredibly creepy. Only a few Trainers were in there, mostly Bug Catchers and Psychics and the occasional other lost trainer, nothing that we couldn't handle. After four days of wandering around, we came to what we thought was the exit, but it turned out to be the place we had entered from.

On our second attempt, things made a little more sense. It was still dark with some Trainers, but at least not everything looked exactly the same anymore.

Near what we assumed to be the halfway point, however, we started to get turned around again. At that point we decided that we wouldn't even try traveling in the dark. We started setting up camp early. After two weeks, we started to get worried. We thought that we were near the exit, but we really couldn't be sure.

"How long are we going to be in this stupid forest!?" I whined.

Drew sighed. "Hopefully not too much longer."

"Are Pokemon are strong enough now, we should be getting out now..."

"Let's just go to sleep and try and figure it out in the morning. It shouldn't be too much longer."

As we settled down, we heard laughter behind us. It grew louder, until I felt something pull hard at my hair. I quickly turned around and saw a small floating Ghost type Pokemon that was trying to look innocent with its large red eyes. It giggled and floated around us.

"What is it?" I whispered. "And what's it doing?"

"It's a Misdreavus, and it appears to be trying to play with us."

"Mis! Mis! Mis!" It sang. It then floated over and sat on the ground in front of Drew. The Misdreavus stared at him with big eyes. Drew reached down to touch it and it began floating around his head.

"I think it likes you," I said, trying not to laugh.

"Apparently it does." He reached for his bag and got out an empty pokeball. It continued to sing and float around him as he pressed the button and held it up to the Misdreavus. It was pulled inside and he set in onto the ground. It rocked back and forth a few times and then gave a small ding to let us know that it was captured.

When he input its data into his Pokedex, it showed that the captured Pokemon was a level 11 female Misdreavus. Drew then let her out of her pokeball.

"Mis~Mi?" She immediately started to float and sing agai, obviously looking very pleased with herself.

"That has got to be the weirdest capture ever. Still... She is kind of cute. What are you going to name her?"

"I'll name her Missy. Do you like that name?" He said, addressing his new Pokemon.

Missy twirled and nodded.

"I guess that's a yes then."

The next morning, we set out with Missy to help guide us through the forest. She wasn't completely reliable, and the rest of our Pokemon didn't trust her yet, but she ended up helping us get out of there in one piece.

By that time, we had been training for two months already. Daemon was level 18 and had learned bite, Rina was level 17 and had learned Odor Sleuth, Marley was level 10 and finally learned her first Water move: Bubble, and Missy was now level 15.

Drew told me that Rina would probably evolve really soon into a Mightyena. I tried to picture my little wolf girl bigger and more powerful. Would she still have the same personality?

As we were starting the final stretch to Eterna, which was a boardwalk with lots of fishermen, I hugged Rina. I knew that she would soon be much larger, and I wanted to remember everything.

Near the end of the Route a fisherman challenged me. I called out Rina and after some Bites, the man's Goldeen went down.

Then Rina started glowing. The light around her got brighter and brighter, until I had to shield my eyes with my hand. When I looked up, there, standing before me was a large grey Pokemon with a black mane. It's bright red eyes looked at me with pride.

"R-Rina?" I stuttered. "Wow... You're amazing!"


	6. Chapter 6

It was a little difficult getting used to Rina as a Mightyena. She was bigger, faster and stronger. Her attitude wasn't much different than before, however. She was still playful and strong willed, although I noticed that she was a little more sarcastic at times.

We had finally made it to Eterna City and checked into the Pokemon center. Marley was examining Rina's new form with curiosity. After a while, it became clear that a she worshiped her even more. Daemon was also impressed with the new Rina. He kept staring at her, but any time she looked towards him, he would shift his gaze elsewhere.

After a good nights rest, we got up and went to the PokeCenter cafeteria, where we all ate some bacon, eggs and fruit. Well, Marley stole all the fruit, anyway.

When we left, the first thing we did was locate the Eterna Gym. It wasn't that far away, the walk was only a few minutes. We entered the Grass typed Gyms doors and came inside. An attendant greeted us and directed us to a woman in the back of the gym. She had short orange hair that matched her knee-length shorts.

"Hey there!" She called to us. "I'm the Gym Leader. My name is Gardenia. Which one of you is going to challenge me?"

We looked at each other. We hadn't actually thought of that.

"I guess I'll go today," said Andrew.

"Great! You know the rules?"

He nodded and smiled politely.

"Then lets do this!" She yelled as she threw out her first Pokemon. It was a Turtwig.

"All right then. Go Daemon! Ember!" As soon as Daemon came out, he immediately sent forth a fiery blast at the Turtwig. Caught off guard, the Turtwig took the full blast of fire right into its face. It gave a yelp and started rolling on the grass, trying to stop the leaves on its head from burning.

"Get up and use Reflect!"

"Daemon, Bite!" Just after the Turtwig put up a protective layer, Daemons sharp fangs bit into its neck, causing it to faint.

"Hmm... You're pretty good! But let's see how you deal with this!" She sent out her Cherrim. "Use Leach Seed!" The Cherrim shot out a seed that hit Daemon. It spread parasitic vines across his body.

"Ember!" Although he looked pained, Daemon sent another blast of fire out. It hit the Cherrim and made it squeal.

"Now, use Magical Leaf!" It shot out glowing leaves that followed Daemon when he tried to run. They hit him, but he held up strong.

"Ember again!" Another blast and the Cherrim fainted. Daemon was panting at this point.

"Last one!" Gardenia cried."Use Stun Spore!" The final Pokemon she called out was a Roserade. It coated Daemon in a fine yellow powder that paralyzed him.

"Don't give up! Use Ember!" Drew yelled. It hit, but the Roserade stood tall.

"Magical Leaf!" Daemon was clearly in pain now, and only had a few HP left.

"One more Ember!" Daemon launched a final blast at the Roserade, which knocked it down, but not out. Daemon then fainted.

"Good job buddy," Drew whispered as he recalled his fallen Houndour. "Go Missy!"

Missy came out and proceeded to float all around the arena. She then swung back around and smiled at Drew mischievously.

"Missy! Confuse Ray!" Missy nodded and floated over to the Roserade. She circled around it, letting out a shiny ball of energy. It confused the Roserade, causing if to hurt itself.

"Now use Astonish!" Missy started screaming and attacked its foe, causing it to flinch. The Roserade was now very dizzy and looked about to fall over.

"Once more!" The Misdreavus let out a final scream and attack, and the Roserade fainted.

After she recalled her Roserade, Gardenia sighed and smiled gently."Your pretty good! Well, I lost. Here's your Forest Badge and a TM. Congratulations!"

"Wow, great job Drew!" I exclaimed as we walked out of the Gym. "You have your first Gym Badge!"

"Yeah... Hey, do you want to come back tomorrow for your battle?"

"Oh... Well, I don't have any advantages like you do, and Marley isn't a very high level yet... Maybe I should train some more."

"Yeah, I think that's for the best. Even though Rina has evolved, you should definitely make sure both of your Pokemon will be able to hold there own against Gardenia."

"Where should we go?"

"Route 211 would work. It's a relatively short path leading to Mt. Coronet. Trainers often go there to toughen up their Pokemon."

"That sounds like it'll be great!" After healing Andrew's Pokemon in the PokeCenter, we headed over to the Route to start my training. Drew was nice and let me do all the Trainer battles so I would get more experience. Rina turned out to be even stronger and fiercer in battle than before. She also seemed much more confident than she used to. Marley also seemed fierce, dealing out her Bubble and unique Tackle with new determination.

After few hours, our Pokemon were tired and so where we. A girl my age who appeared to be a Bird Keeper offered us some food, and we gladly accepted.

"My name's Alexandra, but you can call me Alex," she said while smiling.

"I'm Sarah, and this is my brother, Andrew," I replied while grabbing a sandwich. "Are you here to train too?"

"Oh, yes. I was hopping to train my Hoothoot, Sky, and my Starly, Grace, before taking on Gardenia. I don't have any badges, and my Pokemon aren't a very high level yet."

"We're in the same boat then. Drew is the only one with a badge. I'm here to train my Mightyena and Azurill."

"You have a gym badge?" she said, turning to Drew. "Which one?"

Drew looked away, slightly embarrassed. "The one from the Eterna Gym. I got it today. I could tell you the Pokemon Gardenia has, if you want."

"Really? That would be great! I know that she has Grass type, but I wasn't sure which ones..."

After eating our late lunch and chatting about the Eterna Gym, we decided to train together with Alex. Her Hoothoot and Starly were actually pretty good. They could deal with almost any of the wild Pokemon. Although, Sky kept chatting with other Hoothoot.

Then, around 5:00 pm, Drew told us to not make any noise. "Look over there," he said. Floating above a patch of grass, only 20 feet away, was a Bronzor. "I'm gonna catch it. Daemon, go weaken it, but don't make it faint."

The small Houndour nodded and slowly crept up on the unsuspecting Pokemon. When he was 8 feet away, he stood up and let loose a half power Bite. The panicking Bronzor tried to shake him off, but Daemon clung on. Drew threw a Pokeball and the Bronzor was sucked inside. It shook three times before it finally dinged and stopped moving.

Drew walked over to where the ball lay and picked it up. "Good job buddy," he said while patting Daemon on the head. "We just got a new teammate!"

Alex and I ran up to him. "Wow! That was an expert catch! How many Pokemon do you have now?"

Drew smiled proudly. "This is my third."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "What will you name it?"

"Hmm..." He thought for awhile, and then said, "I'll just call it Bronx"

"That's a little boring..."

"Are you insulting my naming skills?"

The sun set and we made camp with Alex. Our Pokemon where examining Bronx, who seemed a little nervous. At the end of the day, after singing some songs around a Houndour made fire and laughing at each others jokes, we all went to sleep. We had gained a new friend, one that would hopefully last a lifetime.


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up to the sound of a Starly's loud chirping. When I opened my eyes, I saw Grace happily singing and Alex sitting on a rocky ledge with her back to me.

"Alex... It's barely light out..." I rubbed my eyes. "Why are you up so early?"

She turned around. "Oh? I'm just an early riser, I guess. I think I get it from Grace," she said while stroking her Starly.

"Uh, ok." I got up and looked around our camp. "Where's Drew? His stuff's also gone..."

"He went out a little while ago to find some berries. He'll be back soon."

"Oh..." I tried to get up, accidentally disturbing the sleeping Mightyena beside me. I guess I still wasn't used to her size. She rolled over and let out a loud whine, then fell back into a deep sleep. The Azurill by my head squeaked and sat up. Marley yawned and attached herself to my shoulder as I began to stand up. I turned my head to look at the small blue ball, and she gave me a warm smile. I tried my best to smile back, but it ended up looking like more of a grimace.

I turned my head back to Alex and tried to think of something to say to pass the time. "So... You're a Bird Keeper... How is that?"

"It's great! I've always loved birds, ever since I was little! Although I just got my own two months ago..."

"That's, uh, nice. Is it hard?" I mentally punched myself. This had to be the worst conversation ever on my part.

"Not really. I mean it might be for someone not used to it, but I've been looking after my parents bird Pokemon for years."

"So your parents were Bird Keepers too?"

"Yeah, they were! And my grandparents and great-grandparents too! It's been in my family for generations." She grinned. "It's my dream to become the strongest Bird Keeper ever! I'll surpass even the strongest trainers to attain my goal!" She pumped her fist to show her determination.

"Huh, that's actually really cool, Alex! I don't have anything special like that in my family. To be honest, Drew and I are the only trainers. Although I think my mom tried training once when she was ten, but she gave up after a week."

"Hey, at least you two have each other. How old are you anyway?"

"I'm eleven and Drew is twelve."

Alex's eyes widened. "Really? No offense, but Drew seems a lot older than you are."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah... I get that a lot."

"Oh! It's not your fault! I'm eleven too! He just acts so much older than he is."

"What are you guys talking about?" Andrew walked up behind us with an armful of berries. Daemon was walking beside him and Missy and Bronx floated behind.

I waved to him. "We were just talking about you!"

"Nothing too bad, I hope..."

Alex giggled. "It's a secret..."

Andrew sighed. "Well, I brought breakfast, so eat up. After that we should get going back to Eterna. Sarah, if you still don't feel prepared for a Gym battle, then I would suggest that Alex do hers today. Both of her Pokemon has an advantage against Grass. You should watch her battle and try to prepare a strategy for your own. And yes, Alex, you are well over prepared for this match."

Alex, who had just opened her mouth to protest, quickly nodded and I reluctantly followed suit. After all, it couldn't hurt to be prepared.

We shared the berries and cleaned up our camp site before beginning our hike back to Eterna City. It felt refreshing to be traveling with someone other than my brother. Alex brought up topics that we hadn't discussed before and outlooks we hadn't thought of. The time it took to get back to Eterna seemed like no time at all.

Upon arriving, we went to the Pokemon Center to rest and then headed for the Gym. It looked the same as before, with trees and flowers completely covering the inside. We made our way to the back as a group and found Gardenia.

"Hey there! You two are back! Who's here to challenge?" The tall Gym Leader smiled at the three of us.

"Um... I am..." Squeaked Alex. She shuffled forward while looking at the ground. After taking in a slow breath to calm her nerves, she looked up into the eyes of the Grass Leader. "I'm here to challenge you!"

"Alright then, let's get started!" She let out her Turtwig. It immediately got into a fighting stance.

"Go Grace!" Alex let out her Starly and it began to glide around the Gym. "Wing attack!"

"Reflect!" The Turtwig quickly put up a barrier made of light just before Grace's Wing Attack hit. It slid backwards on impact but stayed upright. "Now use Razor Leaf!"

"Dodge it!" shrieked Alex. Grace swiftly flew to the side of the sharp leaves, barely evading them. "Wing Attack again!"

"Razor Leaf!" As soon as the Grace came close to the Turtwig, it blasted sharp leafs straight into her face. The small Starly screeched and quickly flew away from the Turtwig.

"Hang in the Grace! One more wing attack!" Grace hesitantly flew forward and smacked her wing into her opponent. It fell over, but managed to get back up after a few seconds.

"Sunny Day!" The sunlight grew stronger, lighting up the Gym.

"Finish it with Quick Attack!" Before the Turtwig could react, Grace had moved at lightning speed and scored the final hit on it, resulting in a KO.

"Not bad! But let's see how you handle my next Pokemon!" Gardenia released her next Pokemon, the Cherrim. As soon as it felt the sunshine, it opened its dark petals to reveal a bright and cheery face. "Magical Leaf!"

"Dodge it!" Grace managed to glide out of the way, but the glowing leaves turned around and hit her from behind. She fell to the ground hard, but managed to stay conscious with only a few HP left. "Endeavor!"

Gardenia's eyes widened, but she could only watch as her Cherrim's HP flew downward to equal the wounded Starly's. Her Cherrim screamed and fell.

"Quick Attack!" With her last ounce of energy, Grace shot at the Cherrim, knocking it out. Grace then began to glow. Her wings grew longer and her body larger as she evolved. When the light died down, standing before us was a magnificent Staravia. Alex ran to her and hugged her as she fell from exhaustion. She whispered to Grace and returned her.

Gardenia smiled. "I've always loved seeing that. Alright, last one." She calmly sent out her Roserade.

"Alright then, go Sky! Use Peck!" As soon as Sky came out, the little Hoothoot ran at the larger Roserade and drilled into it with her beak. The Roserade cringed in pain.

"Rose! Use Poison Sting!" A poisonous needle shot out of the Roserade's bouquet and hit Sky in the head. Shy screamed and ran back to where we were standing.

"Come on Sky! Use Hypnosis!" Sky turned around and issued out a wave of psychic energy towards the Roserade, but it dodged.

"Magical Leaf!" The glowing leaves flew at Sky, who braced herself for the impact, and they didn't do very much damage when they hit her.

"Hypnosis!" This time the wave hit the Roserade, and it fell over asleep. "Peck it as many times as you can!"

Shy hopped over to the Roserade and proceeded to peck it all over its body. The Roserade stirred, but didn't wake up.

"Now finish with Uproar!" The Hoothoot let out a long and high pitched scream in the Roserade's face. It woke up, but immediately fell down again and fainted.

Gardenia stared blankly. Slowly a smile broke out on her face. "Congratulations! That was a close battle! Here, take this Badge and TM. Great job!"

"Uh... Thanks... I-I mean, thank you!" Alex tried her best to smile. "I really didn't think I was going to win!"

I ran up to Alex and hugged her. "Great job! That was so awesome to watch!"

"Hey, thank you guys for supporting me. I was really nervous!"

"No problem! Um, actually... Can you come watch me tomorrow?"

"Sure! I'd love to!"

We headed back to the Pokemon center to heal Alex's Pokemon. When they were at full health we said goodbye and said to meet back here at nine o'clock the next morning. Alex lived in Eterna and would be going home to tell her parents about her battle and newly evolved Staravia. Drew and I headed out for another hour or two of training before we crashed in our room in the Pokemon center. I fell asleep feeling only slightly nervous about my upcoming battle.


	8. Chapter 8

I sat on a couch in the Pokemon center lobby at nine in the morning waiting for Alex. Rina was laying beside me and Marley was sitting on my lap. Drew was talking to the nurse about the history of Eterna City. And I was nervous.

My Gym battle would be in half an hour, and I still hadn't thought of a decent strategy. My brother had told me to focus on dodging and to try to get well placed hits, but I knew I needed something more to win.

The automatic doors of the center slid open. Alex walked in and looked around. When she saw me she hurried over and stood in front of me. She was wearing jean overalls and had her short red hair pulled up into pigtails.

"Sarah, I found a way to help you!" She grinned. "I found an old TM in my attic that you can use! I'm pretty sure your Azurill can learn this."

Marley looked up at Alex with a puzzled expression that matched mine perfectly. "Zur-rill?"

"Here!" She handed me a disc-like device. "Um... I'm not really sure how they work. I've never used one so..."

"That's um... fine. I'm sure I can figure it out." I stuttered. "And hey, thanks a lot! This will really help!"

"Oh?" Andrew walked over to us. "Is that a TM? I think I know how to use those. Want help?"

"Yes, please."

We walked to the edge of Eterna where there was a wide open space with a single tree. Marley hopped in front of use and looked up excitedly.

"Ok, so I think it goes like this..." Drew twisted the TM and held it in front of Marley. It gave a loud bing then broke in half.

"So, Marley... learn anything?" I asked. She nodded and ran to the nearby tree. Her tail began to glow brightly and she smacked it hard into the tree, creating a small dent.

"Yep!" Alex beamed. "I knew it would work!"

"What move is that?"

Drew smirked. "Iron Tail. It's a really strong Steel type move."

"That's awesome! Marley, use Iron Tail on the tree!" I shouted. Marley ran at the tree with her glowing tail and smacked it, leaving a slightly larger dent than before. I turned to Alex. "Thank you!"

She rubbed the back of her head. "Aw, don't mention it."

After a few minutes, Marley could consistently deal powerful attacks with her tail. We left to go back to the Pokemon center leaving an extremely dented tree behind. After some final preparations the three of us walked into the Eterna Gym. For the third time, I walked to the back of the Gym to where Gardenia stood.

"Hello! Sarah, right?" she asked happily.

I blushed. She knew my name. The Gym leader knew my name. "Y-yes. I'm Sarah."

"Finally your turn to challenge me?" Gardenia smiled reassuringly.

"Yes..." I said, slightly shaking. This would be my first ever gym battle. "I-I challenge you!"

"Hey, don't be nervous! Alright, let's do this! First up is my Turtwig!"

I can do this. I can beat her. I thought to myself. I'm strong enough now.

"Go Marley!" Marley hopped off my shoulder and landed in front of me. "Iron Tail!"

Before the Turtwig could react, Marley's glowing Iron Tail hit it hard in the face. It slid back a few feet from the force of the attack but didn't fall.

Gardenia looked surprised. "Reflect!"

"Iron Tail!" The Turtwig was hit again with Marley's powerful tail. Although the Reflect lessened its strength slightly, it still sent to Turtwig sprawling.

"Razor Leaf!" Gardenia yelled. Sharp leaves flew at Marley and scratched her face, but she held up.

Without waiting for a command, Marley smashed her glowing tail into the Turtwig for a final time, knocking if out.

"Hmm... You're pretty good... But let's see how you do against my Cherrim! Leach Seed!" As soon as the Cherrim appeared, it shot out the parasitic seeds. They hit Marley and rapped their vines around her.

"Iron Tail!" My Azurill flung herself at the Cherrim and pounded it with her fierce attack, breaking through the Reflect that had been protecting the opponent. The Cherrim fell, but quickly got back up.

"Magical Leaf!" Glowing leaves spun towards Marley.

"Get behind the Cherrim!" I shrieked. Marley dove behind and the glowing leaves followed, hitting the Cherrim with its own attack. "Iron Tail!"

The Cherrim, being so close, was knocked back by the attack and slid across the ground. At that moment, however, the seeds binding Marley activated and sucked out some of her energy. The Cherrim looked refreshed after the seeds gave it the energy.

"Magical Leaf!" Gardenia shouted. This time the leafs hit Marley in the face making her squeak.

"Come on Marley! Tackle!"

"Grass Knot!" As Marley ran forward, the grass beneath her tangled and she tripped. "Magical Leaf!"

The leaves hit Marley again, and she winced in pain. Then she stood up and began to glow. Her whole body was glowing. When it stopped, she was bigger and stronger. Her tail was a little smaller, but it appeared to be harder than before.

"Alright Marley! Iron Tail!"

"Magical Leaf." The leaves slammed into Marley and knocked her out.

"What the..." I stared at my fallen Pokemon. "It wasn't that effective before..."

"Marley evolved into Marill, a Water type," Andrew pointed out. "Grass is super effective against Water."

I looked at him awkwardly as I returned my new Marill. "You couldn't have warned me before?"

I sighed and took out Rina's Pokeball. "Alright then, go Rina! Bite!"

Rina appeared and leaped onto the Cherrim, digging her sharp fangs into its petals. It screamed and fainted.

"Alright then, last one!" Gardenia sounded unfazed. "Go Rose! Magical Leaf!"

The Roserade fired its attack at Karina. The Mightyena braced herself before the sharp leaves hit. Barley hurt, she grinned, showing her long fangs. The Roserade backed up a little in fear of the wolf.

"Howl!" I yelled, my grin matching my Pokemon's. Rina's Howl rang through the entire Gym and boasted her spirt even more. (If that's even possible.)

"Stun Spore!" Gardenia's eyes were wide. Her Roserade shook its flower hands, admitting a fine yellow dust. Rina leapt out of the way and used Howl again. The Roserade began to back up again, this time tripping over a rock on the Gym floor.

"Now Bite!" I screamed. Rina shot forward onto the poor Roserade and sunk her fangs into its neck. The Roserade tried to shake her off, but she clung on with her powerful jaws.

"Magical Leaf!" Gardenia cried desperately. A barrage of sparkling leaves shot into Rina's face and caused her to loosen her grip, allowing the Roserade to pull free. It staggered back, looking dazed.

"Tackle!" The dizzy Roserade was knocked off its feet and pinned to the ground. "Finish it with Bite!"

Rina's iron jaws snapped down one last time before the Roserade fainted. Gandenia hastily returned it, mumbling to herself about torn petals. She then walked over to me and gave a tired smile.

"You did a great job. I could tell that you've spent lots of time training your Pokemon. Here's your prize, a TM and the Forest Badge. You deserve it," she said while handing me the badge.

I felt like crying from sheer joy. Finally. My first badge. I'd now gotten farther than my mother ever had when she attempted to train. It gave me courage to continue my journey.

Alex ran up and hugged me and Drew patted me on the back.

"Sarah, you were amazing!" Alex said. "And now you have a water type! You can take on the Oreburgh Gym!"

"We all have a badge now, so if you want to come with us to Oreburgh, Alex, you can." Drew smiled slightly. "We'll in a few days."

"Oh! Really?" Alex looked surprised at this. After all, se had only met us a little while ago. She paused for a moment. Looked at me, then at Drew. Then slowly nodded. "I'll go with you."

On the walk back to the Pokemon center, Alex explained to us that you could get straight to Oreburgh from route 206. Officially, you could only get through with a bicycle, (which we didn't have) but she knew about a hidden pathway that lead to the area under the Cycle Road.

"All we need to do is get through Wayward Cave and the under side of the road and we're practically there," she said. "I'll have to talk to the Underground Man about exactly where the entrance is, since I've never been through it myself. I'm pretty sure it's safe though."

"Only pretty sure...?" I said skeptically. "I mean, I don't have the money to buy a bike and I don't want to go the long way around, but I definitely don't want to get trapped underground in some cave..."

"I'll ask the Underground Man about it's saftey, but I'll say it again. I'm pretty sure it's safe. Like 99.9% sure," reasoned Alex. "Lots of people go underground. In fact, there's a whole network down there used for mining gems and other things. We'll only be there for a day before we hit the main cave, which is a Trainer Area."

"Alright, I'll give it a chance," I mumbled.

We walked into the Pokemon center and I headed straight for the main desk. The pink haired nurse greeted me and asked what I needed.

"Just a normal checkup and care for minor injuries," I said while handing her my two Pokeballs. She smiled and took them over to the healing machine to check for anything irregular.

"Let's see here...," she said looking at the monitor. "A female Mightyena, level 19. No irregularities, just a few scratches. A male Marill, level 14. A bit banged up, but no permanent damage. Healing should only take about five or six minutes."

"Ok thanks." I started to walk back to Drew and Alex but stopped. "Wait, did you say male Marill? Marley's a girl."

"Oh? No, it clearly says male here. Did it evolve recently?"

"She- I mean he- evolved about half an hour ago," I said, sounding confused. "Why does it matter?"

"Well, no one knows why, but sometimes when female Azurill evolve, they change gender. I'm pretty sure that's what happened here."

"That's weird...," I mumbled to myself. I wandered in a daze over to Alex who was waiting politely in the lobby. I placed my hands on her shoulders and shook her lightly. "Marley's a guy. My Marill is a guy. It changed gender. MY MARILL CHANGED GENDER."

"Your... What?" She sounded confused. "How did that happen?"

I took a deep breath and flung myself down onto a nearby couch. "Nurse Joy said that sometimes female Azurill change gender when they evolve."

Drew nodded. "Yes, I've heard about that. I've never seen it happen though..."

"Yeah, sorry... I'm just... What the heck, man."

_My little girl... Is now a guy? What the heck is up with this world. Has anything else changed? Sh- HE isn't going to be too different, right?_


End file.
